In January 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MOE) issued the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution, which stipulates that by the end of 2020, non-degradable, disposable plastic straws will be banned from use in the catering industry nationwide. Data show that in 2019, the national cumulative production of plastic products 81.84 million tons, of which nearly 30,000 tons of plastic straws, or about 46 billion, per capita use of more than 30, industry experts said that the use of plastic straws is only a few minutes, but the degradation of the time may be up to 500 years, the recycling of the difficulty.

Banning disposable plastic straws, a short period of time will certainly have a certain impact on the operation of the catering business, after all, disposable plastic straws are not many alternatives, the cost is also slightly higher, for the catering business cost control has a certain degree of difficulty, but in the long term, if there is a more economical and convenient alternatives, then there is no impact, but rather on society is a positive contribution. Recently in some stores have been plastic straws on the outer packaging printed with " reduce the use of straws more environmentally friendly " logo, and the paper straws and plastic straws of the tool canisters at the same time on the service counter to guide consumers to use. However, for customers, plastic straws and paper straws in the use of experience is still a difference, a store manager said that only 1/3 of the customers will choose to use environmentally friendly paper straws. For enterprises, how to control costs while enhancing customer experience, has become an urgent problem to be solved. It is understood that the cost of plastic straws for an average of about 0.03 yuan, paper straws in 0.1 yuan, a difference of more than 3 times. Paper straws are not only more expensive, and the experience needs to be optimized.

Liu Jianguo, a professor at Tsinghua University's School of the Environment, said that biodegradable bioplastics can be used as a substitute, and paper or bamboo can be used as a substitute, including wheat and some plant stalks, as well as glass, metal and other recycled products to replace it, according to the various consumption scenarios, to choose alternative products. Overall, although banning the use of plastic straws will bring pain to the catering industry, but in the long run, such a price is worth it.